TNW Sites

Google launches leaderboard to highlight the ads that YouTube users actually stayed around to watch

Nine times out of ten, YouTube users let out a loud groan whenever they see an advertisement preceding the video they want to watch. The pointer hovers over the black box in the bottom right-hand corner of the player, waiting impatiently as the ticker counts down before showing that all-important “Skip Ad” button.

Sometimes though, advertisement are great. So much so that we’re actually prepared to sit down and watch them, from start to finish, before sharing them with friends. YouTube has therefore decided to publish a leaderboard for January 2013, showing the top ten U.S advertisments based on a combination of promotion (paid ads) and popularity (organic views). So without further ado, here’s the top five:

The top ten videos have amassed more than 51 million views combined. Remember, you can see all ten on the YouTube Ads Leaderboard for January 2013. We’re just glad Kate Upton wasn’t first – clearly there’s still hope for you yet, Internet.

Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and video games in particular. You can reach him on Twitter, circle him on Google+ and connect with him on LinkedIn.